Welcome to Real Debate Wisconsin (RDW). This is primarily a conservative blog but we always welcome input from all points of view. Things get heated upon occasion but we ask that our readers do their best to keep things civil and respect all participants. We always welcome guest posts, so if there is something you would like to share feel free to email me at fkd1015 at yahoo dot com.

Strike One. That was my reaction when I read the press release from Milwaukee County's Board Chairman Extraordinaire, Lee Holloway. See, since Scott Walker's running for Governor on a platform of less government, lower taxes, etc., Holloway thought he could one-up Walker by recommending that Milwaukee County no longer needs a County Executive.

So if I were a taxpayer in Milwaukee County (and thank God I'm not) I'd be concerned about this. After all, the only thing that's kept tax increases suggested by and voted for by the Milwaukee County board is: the County Executive (Scott Walker!). Holloway's quote in his press release says that citizens are "tired of the political gridlock in this county." Huh? Pretty sure they're more exhausted from the overtime they're working to pay their property taxes.

Well, they thought they'd trap Walker into contradicting his mantra of less government and lower taxes. But they didn't. Walker put out a very good response, echoing the sentiment of eliminating overlapping layers of government.

Nice try, Dem's. You're gonna have to do better than that to snare him.

Can I just share with you a recent irritant I'm experiencing? It's happening more often lately, that people are stopping to chat with me at gas stations and grocery stores, (and at the 4th of July celebration in Raymond), about their frustration with the so-called "lack of ideas" from the Republican Party.

I'm one of the first people to criticize my party when they're stagnant and ineffective. In politics, if you're not moving forward, the other side is pushing you backward.

In fact, (something that's rarely talked about lately...."fact," that is...), Republicans are the ONLY ones who have introduced a bill. You know, a "bill" (think back on your Schoolhouse Rock memories...."I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, and I'm sittin' here on Capitol Hill.....")

Well, that's what is happening to the Patients' Choice Act of 2009 introduced by our own Paul Ryan and others. It's sittin' there on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, the spin machine, propagandists, and outright liars on the other side are painting a picture that would show our guys with their thumbs up their you-know-whats--devoid of ideas, and evil protectors of the Status Quo.

We need to be shouting from the rooftops that we want the system changed, too. We want to be a part of the discussion. Our representatives are leading on this issue--especially Paul Ryan. But make no mistake: the mainstream media and the dem spin machine will do nothing to validate that fact. The longer it stays in the dark, the easier it will be for the advocates of socialized medicine to pass their ideas--if they ever get a bill written that is!

Our guys have led on this issue! We believe in the free market and making health insurance and health care more affordable.

We do not stand in support of a broken system. Unlike the democrats who love to defend their favorite Status Quo: our failed public education system.

July 16, 2009

How did Arlen Specter ever consider himself a Republican with a quote like this:

Sonia Sotomayor sped toward confirmation as the nation's first Hispanic justice Thursday, encouraged by Republican promises of a quick vote and cheered on by a Democratic senator's challenge to take on the Supreme Court's conservative wing when she arrives. "Battle out the ideas that you believe in, because I have a strong hunch that they are closer to the ones that I would like to see adopted by the court," Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican turned Democrat, told Sotomayor.

Umm, yeah, Arlen....couldn't you have encouraged her to battle out the CONSTITUTIONALITY of the issues instead of "ideas she believes in?!" If he wanted her to battle out ideas she believes in, he should have encouraged her to run for CONGRESS.

Good God.....

And of course, in true nancy-boy fashion the Repub's have vowed for a quick vote. They think somehow they'll get "points" for it. Well, they won't be getting any "points" from those of us who are against sexism and racism in our judges--or anywhere else for that matter.

Actually, Lehman did not refer specifically to the liberal extremist Greater Wisconsin Committee, which throws millions of dollars around in Wisconsin politics, as cowardly. He referred to a barely organized handful of concerned Racine citizens who chipped in $10, $25, or at most $50 each to fly a banner over the 4th of July Parade that said "DOYLE LEHMAN AND MASON RAISED YOUR TAXES." But I'm sure he meant them, too, since as was pointed out in the JT blogs this morning, and Cathy has mentioned here previously, they do not disclose their donors either, and they accept far larger contributions than $50.

From the Greater Wisconsin Committee website: Under federal 501(c)(4) regulations, we do not disclose donors, although some donors may choose to make their participation public if they so desire.

So which is it, John? Are all those who choose to remain anonymous cowards, or just those who disagree with you and your tax and spend agenda and utter failure to represent the taxpayers of Racine? I assume that you, and all those who have been quick to criticize the banner, will be making a statement condemning the Greater Wisconsin Committee?

This school board did not even consider looking for cuts before they passed on a double digit tax increase. Everyone one of these school board members needs to go, as does Superintendent Shaw. This is how little your government cares for our struggles in this economy, government continues to grow off the backs of over-burdened taxpayers who can not afford any more.

Why is their no job growth? Because your government is sucking up all of your resources.

Apologizing in advance for the length of this post, I find it important to list each of the pertinent expenditures the state of Wisconsin (Democrats Jim Doyle and the Legislative Democrats who now run the show) has put in front of the needs of our Veterans.

$46,000 for recycling bins in the Town of Wrightstown (Represented by Democratic Rep. Ted Zigmunt from Francis Creek)$500,000 to restore the Opera House in Oshkosh (Represented by Rep. Gordon Hintz, Democrat from Oshkosh)$500,000 for an environmental center in Madison (Represented by Rep. Mark Pocan, a Madison Democrat, and Senator Mark Miller, a Monona Democrat)$2 million in state dollars to plan a UW Madison School of Nursing that the school didn’t request or express a need for (Represented by Pocan and Miller)$1.5 million for four-year old Kindergarten grants for the Madison School District, at a time other school districts are taking cuts$100,000 for a Lake Koshkonong management study (Represented by Rep. Andy Jorgenson, a Democrat from Fort Atkinson)$400,000 for bicycle lanes in Douglas County (Represented by Democratic Rep. Nick Milroy and Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch)$108,000 for Plum City/Union Fire Department equipment and $60,000 for the Plum City School District while others take cuts (Represented by Democratic Rep. Chris Danou and Democratic Sen. Kathleen Vinehout)$50,000 for Barron County Restorative Justice Programs (Represented by Democratic Rep. Mary Hubler and Democratic Rep. Bob Jauch)

Some people claim Summerfest to be the gem of the summer. Others, brie eaters, say that Bastille Days is the force de' triumph of the season. Some clowns will try to tell you that return of Circus Parade after a six year absence is the be all end all to important summer events.

Those of us in the know understand that at best any of those events would be the penultimate placeholder to the July edition of Drinking Right. Tuesday evening, 7 until Dickie throws us out, Papa's Social Club, 7718 W. Burleigh, Milwaukee.